Survival is a revolutionary act.

Published on 2015 · 09 · 11 by Alexa Robin

Survival is a revolutionary act.

If there’s one thing that comes up often in my work both here at VSAC as well as in the community – it’s that it’s easy to get overwhelmed in activist spaces. There is an incredible amount of work to do, and so much resistance to overcome. It’s a struggle, and when you’re working to unravel systems that threaten your very existence? It becomes an intimately personal struggle.

When you’re a member of these groups, it’s so common to feel obligated to fight these fights. We often expect it of each-other actually, and I can think of many stealth Trans women who’ve been called out and yelled at just for wanting to get on with their lives. I used to be one of them! It’s important to take a step back and remember that there’s no obligation to do this work. Being Trans, Queer, or otherwise marginalized doesn’t mean you’re required to fight for the rest of your life. We need to take care of ourselves first, we need to live!

It’s important to remember that when you’re facing a system built to grind you out of existence – and you survive it? That is a revolutionary act. That is resistance.